


I Hold Out My Hand

by maelstromdeparture



Series: On the Right Road [1]
Category: GOT7, Stray Kids (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulation, Producer Bang Chan, i don't know how to tag i'm sorry, other characters are mentioned but don't actually appear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23907460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maelstromdeparture/pseuds/maelstromdeparture
Summary: I'm terrible at summaries but I'll do my best.Changbin inherits his great aunt's show hybrid and life isn't ever the same. Changbin and Hyunjin learn about life and family and what it means to be a person. They find new friends along the way and Changbin learns just how wrong society can be and that maybe he should listen when his head says something sounds wrong.
Series: On the Right Road [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723291
Comments: 10
Kudos: 80





	I Hold Out My Hand

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've ever posted please be kind and enjoy!  
> I did this for fun so have fun! 
> 
> I only recently got into KPOP so if stuff is wrong I'm sorry I'm still learning.

The world wasn’t exactly fair, Changbin knew that, he knew that ever since scientists had created hybrids that the world had tipped to slightly too far into down right cruel and horrendous societal norms, more than it already had been anyway. But he also had little to no interaction with any actual hybrids and therefore couldn’t really say what any of them were like or should be like beyond the ones that different celebrities had as pets on TV or the few that would come in with their owners to his store. He knew logically that his Great Aunt had a show hybrid she was very proud of, she was very rich and was the only relative that Changbin had any contact with and he knew he was the only relative she had contact with as well. They weren’t close by any means but they kept each other updated on their lives and she nagged him about finding a nice girl and settling down or at least getting a pet so he wasn’t lonely. But he had never met her prized show cat, which wasn’t unusual. Cat hybrids according to society, breeders, and science that Changbin put no faith into, were only good for two things, either as highly prized show pets or as toys for sickos, both of which meant they were to stay inside and be put on display instead of allowed to run around and play like your average dog hybrid. Changbin’s understanding was that bunnies were just the same only some were kept as fluffy pets for the uber rich especially the rarer breeds, instead of show hybrids.

So Changbin knew that the world wasn’t exactly right and that he himself knew very very little about hybrids in general and that he had no money or intention to every buy one for himself despite his aunt worrying over his lack of friends. Which meant when his aunt passed away and left him everything in her will he had been completely unsure what to do with the prized Persian Show Hybrid that she had left him. But it meant that he got a call to travel to Pyeongchang to pick up the cat hybrid a couple days after she passed and everything else could be organized as he saw fit. Changbin’s plan was to go through the items in the apartment to see if he wanted to keep anything and then sell everything else and rent the apartment out to a rich kid. He liked his apartment back in Yeongdeungpo-gu in Seoul much better than a penthouse in Pyeongchang, he liked living above his store and close to the underground rap bars he frequented. But he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do with a cat hybrid. He wasn’t fond of the idea of selling him or giving him away and he certainly wasn’t about to put the effort into figuring out how the circuit for show hybrids worked and he definitely didn’t want the cat to end up somewhere with a creep which was likely if Changbin dropped him off at a shelter or a shop. So until he figured out what to do about it, the cat would live with him in the record store. Which now that he thought of it he should probably put some thought into hiring help for the record store, especially if he was going to have a cat to take care of on top of running his own business. It’s a shame his aunt didn’t show dog hybrids, dogs were supposed to be smarter and more willing to learn, it wasn’t uncommon to see dog hybrids helping out at stores their owners ran, Changbin wouldn’t use a dog hybrid as free labor either way because that made him feel weird but it would certainly eliminate having to look for someone. It had taken a bit to find the right apartment building and the lawyer was in the lobby waiting for him.

“Ah, Seo Changbin?” he asked.

“That’s me,” said Changbin nodding.

“Excellent, let’s head on up. The hybrid may be a little unwilling to be relocated at first so you’ll have to handle it carefully,” said the man.

“It?” asked Changbin frowning, had the lawyer not met the hybrid yet either?

“Yes, it will likely feel unsettled,” said the man nodding apparently misunderstanding the question, “but as it is a show hybrid it will likely be very lazy and undemanding, the more hyperactive breeds are rarely high quality show hybrids such as your aunt would have owned. Does it know you?”

“No, I’ve never met her hybrid,” said Changbin shaking his head.

“That could either help or hurt,” said the man shrugging, “it’s fine I’m sure either way. It’s yours now and it’s not like hybrids have the same depth of emotional range that people do. It will probably be a little mopey and subdued for some time but hybrids are quick to bounce back and adjust to new ownership. Here we are.” The two of them stepped out of the elevator and the man opened the door to the penthouse and then handed Changbin the keys.

“The ownership papers are right inside here,” he said pulling open a drawer in the entry way and then shuffling through the documents. He had Changbin sign the ones that would transfer ownership rights and then handed Changbin the gold booklet that had the hybrid’s information, pedigree, identification, and passport in it. Changbin flipped it open and looked for the hybrid’s name. Hwang Hyunjin, so his aunt had given the hybrid her family name.

“You can get the family name changed at one of the registration centers,” said the man as he sorted through the papers again. Changbin nodded and kept flipping through it. Male born the twentieth of March in 2000 so he was younger than Changbin and then Changbin’s eyes widened slightly. Persian. The hybrid was a Persian cat hybrid. Changbin had definitely never seen one of those in real life.

“Just saw the breed I take it?” asked the man with a chuckle, “they sell for a pretty penny. Perisans are a very expensive rare breed. Here is its new collar, with the tags for your address and building. If you want its name on a tag you can get that at the registration center, at one of the clinics, or at almost any general store.”

“His new collar,” said Changbin taking the collar, “thanks.”

“Of course,” said the man. The collar itself was made of hard leather and covered in flashy rhinestones. It looked uncomfortable.

“If you need anything else just give me a call. The cat is somewhere in this penthouse, you’ll probably want to take a cab home instead of the train,” said the man. Changbin nodded. That would be a hefty fare, but the man was probably right and it wasn’t like Changbin couldn’t waste a little bit extra on the cab with the inheritance money this one time.

“Your aunt also left an account for it, which is a little strange, but she was old and rich and it’s not unusual,” said the man nodding, “it gets 1230000 every month added to this card. Since it’s in the hybrid’s name and you’re the owner it’s technically yours and doesn’t matter. The account can be changed to your name if you sell the hybrid.” Changbin nodded. He wasn’t about to do either of those but he’d look into a way to make sure that the cat got the money if he did end up selling him.

“If you need anything else give me a call. Good luck,” said the man, “and I’m sorry for your loss.” Changbin nodded and saw the man out before turning around and looking at the penthouse. It was beautiful and open and there was a giant window. He could see why his aunt loved it. He slipped the identification booklet and the credit card into his jean pockets and stepped further into the house to see about finding the cat.

“Hyunjin-ssi?” he called, “the lawyer who’s name I didn’t bother to remember said you were here? I’m here to take you home?” No response and Changbin walked further into the penthouse, surely the cat had a room?

“Hyunjin-ssi?” he called again. Still no response, Changbin stepped into one of the rooms that was bigger, it looked out over the city and had a large couch with many pillows and blankets as well as a large tv and bookcase, and a raised pedestal in the corner with a pillow on it.

“Hyunjin-ssi?” he called again getting ready to walk back out into the hallway.

“Here, sir,” came a quiet voice from the couch and Changbin turned to look.

“Oh, hi,” he said, “I didn’t see you.” He moved closer and realized the cat was bundled in a blanket pile. He carefully brushed aside some of the stuff on the coffee table and sat on the edge facing the hybrid. The cat looked miserable, his eyes were red and puffy and all his white fur was matted and he was shaking.

“Hi,” said Changbin, “I’m Changbin, my aunt left me everything in the will, you’re going to come live with me now.” Hyunjin nodded.

“Auntie, loved you lots,” said Hyunjin quietly, “always loved to call you.” Changbin nodded.

“I’m her only family,” said Changbin nodding, “and she was my only family, but now I have you too and get to meet you.”

“I’ll do my best for you, sir,” said Hyunjin nodding.

“Oh, call me Changbin-hyung,” said Changbin shaking his head, “my aunt loved you too, Hyunjin-ah, she would talk about you endlessly, I’d feel wrong if you called me anything else, I’m your only family too.” Hyunjin blinked at him looking confused.

“I’m a hybrid, sir,” said Hyunjin cocking his head, “a cat hybrid? Dog hybrids go to families.”

“Auntie considered you family,” said Changbin shrugging, “and I don’t see why I can’t be your family too. I might not be very good at it because I have no idea what I’m doing but I’ll do my best.” Hyunjin nodded. He really didn’t look good.

“Do you know how long you’ve been on this couch?” asked Changbin. Hyunjin shook his head.

“Since Auntie went to the hospital,” he said, “since before the other man came.” That was almost six days. That wasn’t good.

“Have you eaten since?” asked Changbin worried. Hyunjin shook his head.

“Not allowed to eat without permission, sir,” he said quietly, “I didn’t want to break the rules and have Auntie upset.”

“You had to have drank water at least?” asked Changbin and Hyunjin nodded.

“That’s allowed,” he said nodding.

“That’s good. That’s really good. I’m going to see if there’s anything in the kitchen we can get you to eat before we leave,” said Changbin standing up, “I’ll be right back.” No wonder the hybrid was shaking, he hadn’t eaten in at least six days. Changbin hurried to the kitchen and found it practically empty other than take out that was multiple days old. He dug through the cabinets before finally coming up with a protein bar. He hurried back. Hyunjin was sitting up a little straighter now.

“Here,” said Changbin, “this is all I found, we’ll stop for food on the way back to Seoul. Eat that and I’ll gather your things if you’ll tell me where they are.” Hyunjin took the protein bar and started eating it but he looked confused.

“My things?” he asked.

“Clothes, toys, anything you own,” said Changbin nodding.

“Auntie kept clothes for me in the drawer,” said Hyunjin pointing to one of the large shelving units. Changbin stood up and pulled it open. There was nothing but thin fabric and light weight clothes that would hardly cover the hybrid or provide any sort of warmth. Changbin shoved them all into the backpack he had brought for this.

“Anything else?” he asked. Hyunjin shook his head.

“No, sir,” he said and then his eyes widened. “I’m sorry! Changbin-hyung, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again!”

“That’s okay,” said Changbin nodding, “it’ll be hard to get used to I’m sure.” What on earth had happened that would cause that reaction? And how could that man think that cat hybrids didn’t have the same emotional range as humans, because Hyunjin had definitely been miserable here on his own and that reaction had just been pure terror.

“Is there anything in the apartment you’d like to bring with you? Favorite blanket or pillow or anything?” asked Changbin.

“I-I have trophies?” asked Hyunjin, “if you want those?”

“I’ll make sure we get them moved with the stuff to come to the apartment later, I’m a little worried about breaking them on this trip,” said Changbin nodding, “I’m sure we can find a spot to display them in your room, you must be proud of them.” Hyunjin looked baffled but nodded nonetheless.

“And what about favorite blankets or pillows?” asked Changbin.

“This one if that’s okay, Changbin-hyung?” asked Hyunjin holding up the edge of the fluffy blue blanket he was wrapped in.

“Absolutely,” said Changbin nodding, “if that’s all do you think you can stand up now?” Hyunjin nodded and pushed the blanket aside and stood up only to fall right to the floor.

“Whoa, you okay?” asked Changbin hurrying over and helping the hybrid back onto the couch.

“Yes, sorry, Changbin-hyung, I got dizzy,” said Hyunjin.

“That’s okay, why don’t you sit here a minute and I’ll call a cab to wait for us,” said Changbin nodding, “I can carry you down to the cab. You’ll feel a lot better once we get some real food into you.”

“I just need a minute, Changbin-hyung, I don’t want to burden you,” said Hyunjin shaking his head.

“I’d rather carry you than risk you hurting yourself,” said Changbin shaking his head, “don’t worry about it. While I’m thinking about it, are there shampoos and conditioners and special brushes for your hair and fur? It’s really matted and I don’t want to use the wrong thing.”

“They’re in the bathroom, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin pointing towards the hallway, “up the stairs into Auntie’s room.” Changbin nodded.

“Okay, sit tight, I’ll be right back,” said Changbin. He stood up and followed the instructions. It wasn’t hard to find the right products and he hesitated in front of the closet. Hyunjin had been wearing practically nothing. Light weight shorts and a sheer t-shirt were going to do him absolutely no good in this weather. Changbin dug through the closet and came up with a gray sweater and a large coat that would practically swallow Hyunjin despite the hybrid being quite a bit taller than Changbin. He headed back down the stairs to find that Hyunjin hadn’t moved an inch.

“Here put these on, it’s freezing outside, we’ll need to get you warmer clothes,” said Changbin handing Hyunjin the sweater and the coat and then moving to help him when he struggled to get them on. After that Hyunjin watched silently as he called a cab for them and within five minutes he had the cat wrapped back up in the blanket and had the backpack with supplies pulled on over his shoulder and was carefully carrying Hyunjin to the elevator. It was only a few more minutes after that to get him settled in the cab and to tell the driver where they were going and to stop at a fast food restaurant on the way. Hyunjin had refused to say he liked anything more than anything else when they got there Changbin ended up just ordering two of the same and a vanilla milkshake. Hyunjin acted like he’d never had ice cream before in his life, which was a surprising thought for Changbin. The driver just looked back and chuckled and asked if Changbin had never met a show hybrid before and then told him to just keep doing what he’s doing. It made Changbin wonder about how bad exactly the world was for hybrids. Hyunjin had long fallen asleep wrapped up in his blanket by the time they reached Changbin’s apartment. Changbin paid the driver and then carefully carried Hyunjin up the stairs and settled him onto the bed in the room he’d emptied out for him. It had been the office that Changbin didn’t need and he’d set up a mattress on the floor and had made a list of all the things the room would need to make it a real room. He thought about waking Hyunjin up to shower and change into more comfortable clothes but the hybrid looked exhausted so he determined to leave him as was for the night and they could tackle everything else in the morning. He needed to research malnutrition anyway and what clinic would be best to take Hyunjin to anyway, since he wanted to make sure the younger boy wasn’t hurt from going without food for so long. Which reminded him he was going to need to remember to ask Hyunjin about the rules his aunt had set so they could talk about the differences, he definitely didn’t want Hyunjin to not eat because he didn’t have permission. He set the backpack on the ground and pulled out the hygiene supplies to set up in the bathroom before walking to the kitchen to pull out the list of supplies to get that he’d already made. He added clothes and entertainment and decorations to the list. He chewed on his lip unsure about how much what he’d heard about cat hybrid intelligence was true and whether or not that meant Hyunjin would be able to work a phone, he decided to add it to the list with a question mark anyway. They could discuss it in the morning. He needed to sleep, but first research.

He was up before Hyunjin in the morning which wasn’t super surprising, what he’d read about Persians last night had a bunch of stuff that Changbin wasn’t sure he could count on but they all said that Persians were lazy and liked to lounge, which translated to not being morning people. He disregarded all the stuff saying how to train them out of that, he hated those parts of the articles it seemed ridiculous. Hyunjin was more person than cat from what Changbin could tell. He ran through his morning routine and headed downstairs to put up a sign saying they’d be open by noon today instead of seven like normal before heading back upstairs. He hesitated a minute before deciding breakfast was the most important thing, then they could work on fixing the matted hair and fur and from there talk about health and shopping. He turned on the radio to listen to the news and some music while he made breakfast, careful to keep it low so as not to disturb the sleeping hybrid. Everything that he’d read online about malnutrition had said that it would be important to set regular eating times and snack times throughout the day, he’d been lucky to find an article that talked about hybrid malnutrition from trained traits specifically and figured that was probably close if not exactly what had happened. He’d tracked down the doctor that had written it to a clinic in the area too so he’d take Hyunjin there to make sure he was doing alright once they’d talked this morning. He didn’t have super high hopes but he figured that the way the article was worded meant it probably wouldn’t be truly terrible. He set the table and then headed down the hallway and pushed the door to Hyunjin’s room open. The cat was still asleep. He crouched down next to the bed and set a hand on his shoulder.

“Morning, Hyunjin-ah,” said Changbin, “it’s time for breakfast.” Hyunjin’s eyes blinked open sleepily and then wide awake and he sat up with a start apologizing quickly for over sleeping.

“Okay, take a deep breath,” said Changbin setting a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder again trying to be reassuring. That was not a reaction he had been expecting.

“We’re just getting up for breakfast and to talk about health and shopping stuff,” said Changbin, “I wasn’t expecting you to be up on your own. I normally get up this early to open the store. Normally I’ll wake you up to eat because I’m worried about the lack of eating you’ve had recently and a routine is always good, and you can always go back to sleep after we eat and I head downstairs to open the store. I don’t expect you to keep the same hours I do. I’m going to need you to be awake for most of the morning today either way so we can get some of the housekeeping stuff out of the way but after this you won’t need to worry about it. Do you want to change before or after breakfast?”

“After, sir,” said Hyunjin, “I don’t want to keep you waiting. I’m sorry. I can make breakfast if you tell me what you want. It won’t be perfect it’s been a long time since I made food. Auntie didn’t like me doing anything, it effected my show quality.”

“Well, you’re welcome to do whatever you like now,” said Changbin nodding, “if you want to keep doing shows we’ll figure it out but I have absolutely no idea how they work. And I actually like preparing the food but you’re always welcome to help if you like.”

“If I like?” asked Hyunjin looking confused.

“Yes, your opinion matters,” said Changbin confused.

“Oh,” said Hyunjin softly, “I don’t have to keep doing shows?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” said Changbin.

“What do I have to do instead?” asked Hyunjin letting Changbin carefully help him to his feet.

“Anything you like. You can sleep all day if you want, you can read books, watch tv, help out in the store if you want that I’m sure you’d be great at talking to customers, you could sleep in the store if you don’t want to do anything but don’t want to be alone up here. We can try a bunch of different hobbies if you want too,” said Changbin nodding, “until you find the things you like.”

“I can talk to people who buy things from you?” asked Hyunjin looking curious about the idea.

“Sure,” said Changbin nodding.

“Auntie didn’t ever let me talk to people,” said Hyunjin looking baffled but excited, “I love talking to people. She thought I was annoying and too curious. I don’t want to be annoying and too curious so please stop me so I know when to, Changbin-hyung.”

“I will let you know if you ever hit that point but I’d be surprised,” said Changbin shaking his head, “here we are. Eat as much as you can, don’t worry if you can’t finish it all.”

“But that’s ungrateful?” asked Hyunjin hesitantly.

“No, it just means your body hasn’t adjusted to having enough food yet, I don’t want you to make yourself sick,” said Changbin, “speaking of sick, we need to go to a doctor to make sure I’m doing the right things and that you aren’t hurt from so little food for so long.” Hyunjin nodded and waited to start eating until Changbin had. Which struct Changbin as odd until he realized it was probably trained behavior, little steps, he’d have to take little steps to help Hyunjin be more relaxed here. Changbin tried to carry on a conversation as they ate but it was a little difficult with how quiet and confused Hyunjin was in general. He cleaned up the plates once they were done and Hyunjin offered to help and then sat there and kept looking like he was expecting to be scolded for not managing to eat all the food. It took Changbin only a minute to get the dishes into the dishwasher.

“Okay,” said Changbin, “you need to shower, I’ll show you how to run the shower and then go find you some warmer clothes to borrow until we get you some of your own.”

“Warmer?” asked Hyunjin tilting his head and then looking down, he’d pulled the sweater off at some point during the night. Changbin nodded.

“All the clothes you have are really thin, you need something warmer to wear around,” said Changbin trying to explain.

“But warmer covers more? Auntie said I’m supposed to be pretty not warm?” asked Hyunjin confused. And there were just so many things wrong with that that Changbin didn’t even know where to start.

“Well, I would rather you not be cold and I want you to be comfortable,” said Changbin, “and you’re going to need thicker clothes if you want to do anything other than lay around here.” Hyunjin cocked his head but nodded.

“And I have to shower?” he asked.

“You need to get clean,” said Changbin nodding and then realizing he was probably asking if it had to be a shower. Maybe the whole running water issue transferred to hybrids too?

“Would you rather a bath?” asked Changbin, “the bathroom had a tub, it’s not very big but it should work just fine.”

“Running water is yuck,” muttered Hyunjin nodding. Changbin nodded.

“Bath it is then. Ready?” Hyunjin nodded and stood up to follow Changbin to the bathroom. Changbin showed him how to work the faucet and then dug out a towel and a washcloth for him to use.

“These are yours?” asked Hyunjin confused.

“And now they’re ours,” said Changbin nodding and Hyunjin looked more confused but didn’t ask or explain why.

“Alright, I’ll go grab you some clothes and just come find me when you’re done,” said Changbin nodding and Hyunjin nodded hurriedly. It took Changbin a bit to find clothes he thought would fit the cat, he was much taller than Changbin was which meant Changbin was glad to find the pair of sweatpants in the back of the closet that he’d forgotten to return for being too long, he also grabbed a t-shirt and a hoodie and set them both on the counter just inside the bathroom. Hyunjin reappeared a bit later ears, tail, and hair soaking wet and still tangled and matted, but in the clothes and looking much warmer. His fur was pure white, whiter than Changbin had thought it was. The pants fit and the t-shirt hung off of him. He was carrying the hoodie.

“It’s soft I didn’t want to get it wet,” said Hyunjin quietly in explanation as he lifted the hoodie.

“Makes sense,” said Changbin nodding, “I bet there’s a hair dryer somewhere and we can see about getting the tangles out, yeah?” Hyunjin nodded and followed Changbin through the house as Changbin started to dig around for the hair dryer. He plugged it in and asked Hyunjin if he wanted him to do it and had been pleased when Hyunjin nodded. Not really caring about the fact that Hyunjin wanted him to do it and more happy that Hyunjin hadn’t been afraid to tell him that he wanted it. It took several minutes to get him completely dry.

“Okay,” said Changbin glancing at the clock to see how long that had taken. “Do you want to brush or do you want to walk me through it?”

“I don’t know how, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin hesitantly looking worried about admitting that.

“Okay, that’s fine,” said Changbin nodding, “then we’ll do it together today and I’ll see about finding information on properly taking care of your ears and tail.” Hyunjin nodded in agreement and sat down on the floor when Changbin directed him to so that he could reach his head.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be so much taller than me honestly,” said Changbin eyeing the comb and the brush before deciding that the comb would be best for working out the knots.

“Sorry,” said Hyunjin, “I-I can stay sitting all the time?”

“Oh no, I wasn’t saying it was a bad thing,” said Changbin shaking his head, “it’s cool, I just got used to not being around other people so much and forgot my own height.”

“Oh,” said Hyunjin nervously.

“I’ll try to be careful, let me know if it hurts too much,” said Changbin before carefully starting to run the comb through the hair. It took almost an hour and a lot of grimacing on both sides before all the knots were out and Hyunjin looked somewhat less messy.

“Okay, do you want to go shopping first or try the clinic? It’s supposed to be open,” said Changbin.

“I don’t know?” said Hyunjin looking up at him from the floor, amber colored eyes wide and confused as he looked at Changbin.

“Alright, well, if we go shopping first you’ll have clothes you picked out yourself and much warmer. If we go to the clinic first we can ask if there’s anything else you need that I don’t have on the list,” said Changbin nodding.

“Should we go to the clinic first then?” asked Hyunjin fingers twisting into the sleeves of the hoodie nervously, “so you don’t have to waste time?”

“If that’s what you want then we’ll do that,” said Changbin nodding, “let me find shoes for you, actually I should add that to the list.” Changbin hurried around the apartment grabbing everything he would need for the outing and sliding into his own shoes and pulling his hoodie over his head. He shoved his phone and his wallet into his pockets and grabbed an extra set of sneakers and Hyunjin’s collar for him before returning.

“Okay, these should work for now,” said Changbin handing Hyunjin the shoes who quickly put them on without complaint.

“And you’ll need this since we’re going out,” said Changbin and Hyunjin nodded and lifted his chin clearly expecting Changbin to put it on him. Changbin hesitated a moment before helping him buckle the collar on and triple checking that it wasn’t too tight.

“Um, Changbin-hyung?” asked Hyunjin hesitantly.

“Yeah?” asked Changbin.

“You haven’t had a hybrid before?” asked Hyunjin.

“No and honestly I wasn’t expecting to,” said Changbin shaking his head, “how come?”

“The doctor will need my identification papers. I wanted to make sure you knew?” asked Hyunjin clearly hesitant to be pointing this out to Changbin.

“Oh! That would make sense,” said Changbin nodding, “thanks for letting me know. I’d forget my own head if it weren’t attached. I’ll be right back.” He hurried back through the apartment and came back moments later, the gold booklet that acted as Hyunjin’s identification now shoved into his pocket as well as the ownership rights paper shoved into his wallet just in case.

“Alright, now we’re ready,” said Changbin nodding, “how do you feel about the subway?”

“I’ve never been on the subway, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin quietly shaking his head as he followed Changbin down the stairs into the record shop. He looked around wide eyed.

“This is my shop,” said Changbin nodding and gesturing around, “it’s not much but I put my soul into it so it’s my life’s work and I love it. You’ll be more than welcome to be down here with me while it’s open if you don’t want to be upstairs in the apartment.”

“It’s so pretty,” said Hyunjin looking around, “lots of sun too, Changbin-hyung. It’s music?”

“Yes,” said Changbin nodding smiling, “I love music. I produce music for fun too, I’ll show you later if you like.”

“Yes, please,” said Hyunjin nodding eagerly. He followed Changbin out the door and waited right behind him as Changbin locked the store and shoved the keys into his pocket. Hyunjin seemed to shy closer and closer to Changbin as they walked and Changbin tried to keep up a conversation, talking about what was on the street as he tried to pull up where Bangtan Hybrid Clinic was located.

“Oh, it’s actually walking distance so we can put off your first experience with the subway for another day, how’s that sound?” asked Changbin.

“Okay, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin nodding stepping closer to him again. It took several more stepping closer incidents for Changbin to realize it happened whenever they passed someone or someone looked too curiously at Hyunjin.

“Would you feel better if carried you, Hyunjin-ah?” asked Changbin trying to think of a way to help the hybrid with whatever it was he was afraid of happening.

“No,” said Hyunjin shaking his head, “I can walk, Changbin-hyung.”

“Okay,” said Changbin nodding. They made it another block before Hyunjin hesitantly spoke up.

“Um, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Can I hold onto you?” asked Hyunjin, “I’ve not been outside a lot and Auntie always says someone will want to take me away?”

“Sure,” said Changbin immediately offering his hand for Hyunjin to hold. Hyunjin latched onto it tightly and pressed closer, revealing how scared he was of what might happen to him if he was snatched off the street. And honestly the realization that it was a possibility frightened Changbin too and he felt better himself having a good hold on the younger.

“I think that’s our destination up there,” said Changbin looking towards a three story building on the end of the block. It was only a couple more minutes before they were walking into the building the bell on the door jingling lightly as they did. There was a gray cat hybrid sitting in one of the desk chairs looking half asleep and cradling a steaming mug, silver blue eyes blinked at them apathetically. The woman sitting beside him smiled brightly at them, her nametag read Jihyo.

“Hi, welcome to Bangtan Hybrid Clinic. How can we help you?” she asked.

“Do you take walk ins?” asked Changbin moving over towards the counter.

“Absolutely, and you’re in luck, Dr. Kim will only has one patient scheduled for this early in the morning so it shouldn’t be much of a wait,” said Jihyo still smiling brightly. “I’ll need you to fill out the paperwork, do you have his identification booklet with you?”

“Yes,” said Changbin nodding and let go of Hyunjin’s hand to dig it out of his pocket for the woman.

“Excellent,” she said, “I’ll get him entered into the system.” Hyunjin had transferred his grip to the hem of Changbin’s hoodie and he was looking at the other cat hybrid slightly curious and frightened. Jihyo noticed as she handed Changbin a clipboard.

“Oh don’t mind, Yoongi-hyung, sweetheart, he’s grumpy in the mornings and all the time but he’s a sweetheart if you can get past his prickles,” said Jihyo cheerfully. “He tends to spend his mornings here with me or across the street at Seokjin-hyung’s bakery.”

“It’s not my fault Hobi’s a morning person,” grumbled the hybrid, “and the decent classes aren’t until later. Just screaming toddlers right now, yuck.” He slumped further against the chair and pulled one of his legs up against his chest.

“S-sorry,” said Hyunjin quickly, “I didn’t mean to stare, Yoongi-ssi, I just really like your ears.” Yoongi looked at him baffled.

“ _You_ like _my_ ears?” he asked, “you’re a Persian, pure-bred if that booklet’s any indication. Why would you like my ears?”

“They’re neat?” said Hyunjin hesitantly, “I’m sorry. I just haven’t seen anything like them. I didn’t know there were different kinds of ears.” Yoongi’s gaze flicked up to Changbin judgingly.

“He ever even seen a doctor before? Or do you just keep him locked up in your house?” asked the hybrid. Changbin was a little surprised, he’d never met a hybrid so aggressive.

“Changbin-hyung’s really nice,” said Hyunjin prickling at the statement, “he bought me a milkshake and he made sure my collar didn’t hurt and he let me take a bath instead of a shower and he didn’t get mad that he had to wake me up this morning and he said we’d go shopping after this and that he would let me pick out my own clothes and that I could be with him in the music store if I didn’t want to stay by myself in the apartment all day and he gave me my own room and a bed instead of a pillow so you can stuff it.” He stuck his tongue out at Yoongi who looked at him looking a cross between surprised and amused.

“You’re lucky I’m too tired to care,” he said, “don’t go off like that to every new hybrid you meet. I’m guessing this is a new situation?” Hyunjin nodded looking nervous again and ducked behind Changbin, the courage that had made an appearance a moment ago gone now.

“He was living with my aunt,” said Changbin nodding, “she passed away almost a week ago now and I was only informed that Hyunjin-ah had been left to me yesterday.”

“Regular check up then?” asked Jihyo.

“Add malnutrition, he’s way to skinny for a Persian hybrid,” said Yoongi pointing at the computer screen. Jihyo nodded.

“You need more milkshakes, Hyunjinnie,” said Yoongi looking back at Hyunjin who stared at him wide eyed and Yoongi looked at Changbin instead.

“You need to get him more milkshakes,” he said and Changbin nodded.

“I’ll add it to the list,” he agreed. “Neither of us know how to take care of the fur on his ears and tail, where would I find information for that?”

“Got Books on across the street down four buildings,” said Yoongi nodding, “if Jackson doesn’t have a book that’ll help he’ll sit down and walk you through it. He’s got a Samoyed hybrid it’s not too much different.”

“Isn’t that a dog though?” asked Hyunjin poking his head out from around Changbin’s side again, apparently determining that Yoongi wasn’t too dangerous.

“Yeah,” said Yoongi nodding, “but Jackson also knows stupid stuff so if he doesn’t know he’ll know who will.” Changbin handed back the clipboard having filled it out and used the pen to scribble down the location of the bookstore on his wrist.

“Hopefully he does you’re kind of a mess today,” said Yoongi scanning Hyunjin’s appearance again.

“I look way better than I did this morning though,” said Hyunjin nodding excitedly, “Changbin-hyung said we could figure it out together. Right, Changbin-hyung?” Changbin nodded happy that Hyunjin was opening up in the presence of the other hybrid.

“Of course,” said Changbin nodding.

“You’re a show hybrid, right?” asked Yoongi, “so you must know that it feels different like this.”

“Well, yeah,” said Hyunjin nodding, “but I feel a lot better than I have been and I don’t miss Auntie so much. It was lonely without her and I never had milkshakes or chicken and Changbin-hyung bought me both last night.” Yoongi gave him a wide eyed look.

“You never had chicken?” he asked and Hyunjin shook his head.

“Tell Namjoon to ask about diet,” said Yoongi to Jihyo who added it to the chart. Yoongi hesitated before reaching under the counter and coming up with a handful of chocolates.

“Here,” he said holding them out to Hyunjin who looked at Changbin who nodded encouragingly. Hyunjin took the small handful of candies there were only four but he looked at them curious.

“What’s this?” he asked, “it smells good.”

“It’s chocolate, you eat it,” said Yoongi, “after unwrapping it.” Hyunjin quickly unwrapped one and shoved it into his mouth, his eyes widened.

“It’s like the milkshake from last night but chewy and warm and it tastes different,” he said brightly before quickly eating the other three.

“Milkshakes come in lots of flavors, we can try every one until you find your favorite,” said Changbin nodding. Hyunjin beamed at him lost in the moment and chewed on the chocolate happily.

“You have no idea what you’re doing do you?” asked Jihyo with a smile.

“Not at all,” agreed Changbin as Hyunjin let go of his hoodie to balance against the counter and ask Yoongi more questions. Yoongi didn’t look any less tired and a grumpy but he did answer all of Hyunjin’s questions and blinked at him slowly a couple times, each time he did making Hyunjin beam brighter and wiggle slightly with happiness.

“Well, just keep doing what you’re doing,” said Jihyo nodding, “you’re leaps and bounds better than most hybrid owners we get in the clinic. Normally Yoongi won’t offer any advice at all and glares at them the whole time. The world is full of stupid people, Dr. Kim is going to like you.”

“Is he Yoongi-ssi’s?” asked Changbin and Jihyo grinned.

“No, Yoongi-hyung is just an old friend of his,” said Jihyo nodding, “Jung Hoseok who owns the dance studio a few doors down belongs to him. Dr. Kim’s pups are normally over there or you can find just about all of the hybrids and humans in their family group at Seokjin’s café across the street just about any time of day.” The door opened and a man and a dog hybrid walked out, a man in a nurse uniform stood by the door.

“Hwang Hyunjin,” he called. Hyunjin latched onto Changbin’s hoodie again but waved good bye to Yoongi and followed Changbin to the nurse and the two of them followed him to an exam room.

“Okay, I’m Tuan Mark, please call me Mark, Hyunjin-ssi please hop up onto the exam table for me,” said Mark and Hyunjin glanced at Changbin and reluctantly let go of him and climbed up onto the table.

“You can have a seat, Mr. Seo,” said Mark nodding to the chairs, “unless you’d rather stand next to him.” Hyunjin shot Changbin a panicked look and Changbin didn’t even have to make the decision to stay right next to him and offered him his hand again. Hyunjin grabbed it tightly, tail lashing nervously in the air behind him.

“Alright,” said Mark nodding. “You moved in with Mr. Seo yesterday, right Hyunjin-ah?”

“Yes, sir,” said Hyunjin nodding.

“Can you tell me how old you are?”

“Um, eighteen?” guessed Hyunjin.

“Yes,” said Mark nodding and smiling brightly at Hyunjin, “do you know the date?” Hyunjin shook his head.

“Okay, it’s the 13th of November,” said Mark nodding, “that’s alright I wasn’t really expecting that you’d know, most of our patients don’t.” Hyunjin nodded but wilted slightly.

“Okay, we’ll do a general check up but what we’re really worried about here is your weight,” said Mark pulling up the file on the screen, “Dr. Kim will be in to do the check up in full, I’ll just get you weighed before he steps in.” He indicated a scale against the wall.

“If you would please step onto that,” he said. Hyunjin did so but didn’t let go of Changbin’s hand. Mark frowned at the number and typed it into the computer.

“I’ll be right back with Dr. Kim,” said Mark nodding. He stepped out into the hallway.

“Is-is my weight bad, Changbin-hyung?” asked Hyunjin looking worried. “Do I need to lose more? Auntie was always worried I wasn’t thin enough for competition.”

“No, no, we actually have the opposite worry. You’re much too thin,” said Changbin shaking his head. “I’m not sure what my aunt was trying to get you to weigh but it wasn’t healthy for you and I don’t want you to be sick or hurt because you aren’t getting enough food. Dr. Kim will be able to tell us what we need to do to fix what she did.”

“Oh,” said Hyunjin softly, “so I’m not supposed to hurt all the time?”

“No, where do you hurt?” asked Changbin and Hyunjin gestured to his stomach and Changbin nodded.

“Yeah, you are not supposed to be hungry all the time,” he said shaking his head.

“Can people be wrong?” asked Hyunjin, “I thought people weren’t ever wrong?”

“No, people are wrong all the time,” said Changbin shaking his head. “A lot of what people have told you and will probably keep telling you isn’t right either. Probably a lot of what I thought before meeting you also isn’t right but I don’t know how much yet. We’ll learn together, yeah?”

“Okay,” said Hyunjin nodding. The door opened and a tall man walked in, Mark following.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Kim Namjoon,” he said smiling pleasantly. “How are we feeling today, Hyunjin-ah?”

“Okay,” said Hyunjin hesitantly, “Changbin-hyung says I’m not supposed to be hungry all the time?”

“That’s right,” agreed Namjoon nodding. “We’ll run through the regular physical first just to make sure there’s nothing that needs to be addressed and then we’ll talk about a healthy diet.” Changbin nodded as he listened to the doctor. It didn’t take long for the physical to be taken care of and then Namjoon sat back and looked over the chart again.

“Okay,” he said, “you’re a first time hybrid owner, right, Mr. Seo?”

“Yes, it was very sudden,” said Changbin nodding. Namjoon grimaced slightly.

“I really wish people would put more thought into adopting hybrids instead of doing it on a whim,” muttered Mark.

“Changbin-hyung inherited me,” said Hyunjin softly, nervous to speak up but unwilling to let the other humans think bad about Changbin who had been so nice to him.

“Ah, I’m sorry for both your loss,” said Namjoon nodding. “Can you tell us about your eating habits from before, Hyunjin-ah?” Hyunjin wiggled uncomfortably but nodded.

“No carbs, no sugar, no meat,” he listed, “veggies only, mostly salad, no salt, no grease, they’re all bad for me. Lots of water. No eating without permission either.”

“How often did you eat?” asked Namjoon already frowning.

“Once a day sometimes twice,” said Hyunjin nodding, “more if it was a special occasion.”

“And snacking?”

“Snacking is bad,” said Hyunjin immediately shaking his head. No wonder he was so thin, not only had he starved himself all week he’d been being starved probably for years.

“Okay,” said Namjoon, “Mr. Seo, I really hope you understand exactly how unhealthy that is and I won’t have to hit you over the head with a nutrition book.”

“Aren’t cat’s carnivores?” asked Changbin frowning, “as in you have to eat meat?”

“Traditional cats are yes, cat hybrids are omnivorous, though they do need the nutrition of meat and absolutely cannot go without it for more than a handful of weeks,” said Namjoon shaking his head. “Hyunjin-ah, you are very underweight and I am honestly shocked you do not have more health problems as a result. You are very lucky. We need to get you on a healthy diet so you can gain back to a healthy weight and prevent any possible problems of being underweight and malnourished. I’m going to prescribe vitamins for you to help get your vitamin intake back on track, Mark, why don’t you grab those for them right now?” Mark nodded and left to go grab the vitamins.

“You also will need a regular schedule for both meals and snacking,” said Namjoon, “since your body is used to not eating regularly you will probably not be able to easily keep track of when you should eat. A routine will be good both for your physical health and your mental health. I’m going to print off this chart of what a good diet for a cat hybrid consists of, it is not tailored to you so you may find yourself adjusting as you go, but it is a good rule of thumb to follow. Mr. Seo, this is also a people friendly diet and will be very healthy for you as well if you would like to follow it as well. Would you like one copy for both of you or just one to put in the kitchen?”

“One to put in the kitchen for now,” said Changbin, “I can always photocopy it if we decide we need to have copies to carry around too. How’s that sound, Hyunjin-ah?” Hyunjin just nodded and Mark came back with the vitamins and walked both Hyunjin and Changbin through what would need to be taken when.

“Mark, I’ve printed off a diet chart for them, why don’t you take Hyunjin-ah with you and show him while I walk Mr. Seo back to the front,” said Namjoon.

“Great idea, want to see the machine, Hyunjin-ah?” Hyunjin looked at Changbin who nodded immediately and Hyunjin beamed and climbed off the table curious to follow Mark out of the room.

“You had no idea what to expect did you?” asked Namjoon.

“Honestly no,” said Changbin shaking his head, “and I feel so out of my depth. And like I always thought everything I’d heard about hybrids sounded fishy, but oh my gosh it’s so much worse than I thought. And I just, fuck, he couldn’t stand up on his own when I got there. I didn’t even know I’d inherited everything him included until the night before yesterday and arranged to get there as fast as I could because I didn’t want him to be alone. He was alone for six days and starved himself for six days because he wasn’t supposed to eat without permission. I don’t know what to do. How am I supposed to help him? He’s so smart and he’s curious as hell when he forgets to be scared, I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, I suggest asking him to tell you about the rules at his old home and going through them systematically together and telling him which ones no longer apply and which ones are more like guidelines to keep him from getting hurt accidentally. Explain your choices thoroughly if you ask him to do something. Ask him. Don’t tell him to, unless he’s in immediate danger. Make sure you ask his opinion, he’s probably not going to want to give it right away or even for awhile, but don’t stop asking. Other than that, it looks like you just keep doing what you’re doing,” said Namjoon nodding, “he’s eighteen he’s not really a kid anymore but he is going to be pretty lost with a lot of things and is going to need to be able to rely on you to help him figure it out and explain things. You should ask him if he knows how to read and do math and if he wants too learn if he doesn’t, some show hybrids do some don’t. I don’t know if you’ve got room, but make sure he knows he’s allowed to run around and exercise and be curious, show hybrids are normally confined to one room or one spot and told to sit or lie there and not move hardly at all. They’re kept inside and out of the sun and generally used as decoration. He is a Persian, it is a common trait for Persians to really like sleeping and naps, make sure he knows naps in the sun are allowed because that is commonly a favorite thing. Most cat hybrids actively hate running water, so baths instead of showers. Cuddling is important, extremely important, all hybrids are very physically affectionate people and will be depressed if they aren’t given hugs and cuddles and ear pets. Stay away from the tail unless asked. Do not ask him if he wants to make sure he is aware he can if he wants to and you would be happy to be there for him. Judging from the way he was clinging to you already, I doubt you are going to have any problems with that. Sometimes hybrids that have been severely abused aren’t very tactile for a long time, I doubt that is something you have to worry about. If it is, give us a call and Jihyo can get you the name of a therapist. Watch for anorexia or bulimia, he seemed alright and like he understood that his old owner was hurting him health wise with the diet, but you never know what others have said that could cause an eating disorder. They’re not uncommon in hybrids, especially cats. Hybrids are social creatures like most people but more so. It does vary from hybrid to hybrid, make sure he knows he can be around you and try to find other hybrids he can be friends with. If you can’t and he starts to seem depressed bring him by here or by Jin’s Café across the street my boys, Yoongi, or Jin’s Jungkook are all very friendly and would be glad to have him join them for a bit if he’s feeling lonely. He’s not going to ask for that, you’ll have to watch for it. Actually, you might want to pick up a book on cat hybrid body language and behavior so you know what to be watching for. It will take some time for him to ask you things unless he’s really scared or worried about something. I trust you’ve already realized that hybrids have just as much emotional depth as humans?”

“Yes, that was painful to realize. He was on his own in that apartment for almost an entire week,” muttered Changbin shaking his head. “And for all that she did that clearly hurt him he did love her, you can tell.”

“I wouldn’t say so,” said Namjoon shaking his head, “most hybrids that truly love their person would be much more of a mess after being left on their own after they passed on for so many days in a row. I’d say Hyunjin-ah liked her and may have been fond of her, but I would not say he loved her. He’s probably confused because his head is telling him he should have loved her, but he knows that she hurt him. It’s a little unusual honestly, normally unless a hybrid is regularly violently hurt by their owner they are very attached because they’re trained to be that way, brainwashed into it from birth. It is for the best in the long run, it means he’ll adjust much more quickly to living with you. Now, let’s head on out to the front unless I can do anything else for you.”

“Are all hybrid clinics like this one?” asked Changbin.

“Oh no,” said Namjoon standing up. “We’re the only one in Seoul that I’m aware of. Most hybrid doctors think we’re crazy over here. They think most of the street is honestly and the area, I’ve managed to spread my way of thinking quite far. Reasonable people realize it for themselves and start looking for others like them and we tend to group up. I’m sure you’ll meet the rest of my family eventually.”

“Jihyo-ssi mentioned something about that,” said Changbin nodding. “You have a lot of family in the area?”

“Oh no, this is a found family situation. We’re each others family but none of us are related,” said Namjoon nodding. “You met Yoongi? He’s my best friend and has been practically my brother for years now and same with his person, Hoseok he owns the dance studio and Jin across the street as well. Everyone else are close friends.”

“I don’t think Hyunjin-ah has met many other hybrids, he was very curious about Yoongi-ssi ealier,” said Changbin nodding.

“Ah, I hope that went well, Yoongi-hyung can be a bit prickly in the morning and throughout the day but especially in the morning, he’ll probably go back to sleep once he finishes his coffee and sleep until lunch break,” said Namjoon nodding.

“Yoongi-ssi was very nice,” said Changbin shaking his head, “he was a little upset at first because Hyunjin said he liked his ears and I think he thought Hyunjin-ah was making fun of him.”

“That’s probably why it went well actually,” said Namjoon with a chuckle, “if Hyunjin-ah explained that he really did like his ears and just hadn’t met many other hybrids he probably melted all of Yoongi-hyung’s icy walls. He has a soft spot for cute kids who just genuinely want to understand things. All right, you’ll talk to Jihyo about payment and hopefully we won’t see you very soon because that would mean Hyunjin-ah was sick.” Changbin laughed and nodded.

“Thank you for you help, doctor,” he said before stepping out of the doors that Namjoon indicated. Hyunjin was leaning over the counter again, a paper clutched in one hand and talking to Yoongi excitedly, he had a still wrapped sucker clutched in the other hand. His head whipped up as the door opened and he bounced over.

“Mr. Mark-ssi showed me the printer, Changbin-hyung,” he said holding up the paper, “and he gave me this. He said it was candy.”

“Sure is,” said Changbin nodding, “looks like a good flavor, if you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it. Do you want to hold onto your chart or do you want me to hold onto it?”

“I don’t have pockets, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin looking down at the borrowed clothes and then holding out the paper. Changbin chuckled.

“Good point,” he said nodding, “I’ve got to pay and then we can go to the bookstore since we’re here and then shopping.” Hyunjin nodded and turned his attention to the candy in his hand as Changbin talked about payment with Jihyo.

“Unwrap it and suck on it, Hyunjinnie,” said Yoongi sounding even less awake than he had earlier, mug abandoned to sit on the desk no longer steaming and likely empty. Hyunjin looked over at Changbin almost nervously and moved closer to Yoongi.

“Can I?” he asked and Yoongi nodded.

“He didn’t tell you not to, he just said you don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it, he expects you to want to try it,” said Yoongi rubbing one of his hands over his eyes as he talked.

“Oh, okay,” said Hyunjin turning his attention back to the candy and carefully unwrapping it. He stuck it into his mouth and his eyes widened.

“Good?” asked Yoongi with a slight smile.

“So good, hyung! It’s better than chocolate,” said Hyunjin surprised. Yoongi laughed and looked at the flavoring.

“Changbin-ssi, you need to get him a strawberry milkshake, it’s better than chocolate apparently,” said Yoongi and Changbin laughed.

“Alright,” he said nodding, “I’ll add it to the list and we can make sure we do that later.”

“Are we leaving?” asked Hyunjin realizing that Changbin was done and Changbin nodded.

“Bye, Yoongi-hyung, thank you,” said Hyunjin brightly waving good bye and moving over towards Changbin quickly. Changbin waited for him before stepping out the door and offering Hyunjin his hand again. Hyunjin held onto it tightly and shivered slightly at the cold. Changbin paused to help Hyunjin pull the hood up over his ears.

“I know it’s uncomfortable but it’ll help with the wind,” said Changbin nodding, “ready for the bookstore?”

“Yes, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin nodding, “Dr. Kim-ssi was really nice, and Yoongi-hyung, I thought he was going to be scary. Aren’t doctors supposed to be scary?”

“Only bad ones,” said Changbin nodding, “I was scared of doctors until I found a good one too. Dr. Kim is pretty cool, yeah? We’ll make sure we’ll go to him if you’re ever sick.”

“Okay, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin nodding again but he hummed happily as he stuck his sucker back into his mouth.

“Do you want to stop by the café after the book store while we’re here?” asked Changbin and Hyunjin hesitated.

“If you do, Changbin-hyung,” he said, which sounded like a no.

“I don’t care much either way,” said Changbin shaking his head, “it’ll give us a reason to come back sometime and maybe see Yoongi-ssi again.”

“Okay, Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin nodding and smiling again, which Changbin hoped meant he’d made the right decision. He pushed open the door to the bookstore.

“Hello!” called a voice, “welcome to Got Books!” Changbin called hello back as he turned to help Hyunjin take the hood off again before the two of them walked further into the store. They found a man at the counter leaned over a book while a fluffy white hybrid sat on the counter next to him playing on a game on his phone, which answered the question of whether or not Changbin should make sure to get one for Hyunjin.

“Hi, what can I do for you?” asked the man looking up from his book.

“Hi, Yoongi-ssi over at Bangtan Hybrid Clinic said you’d be able to help with ear and tail care for Hyunjin-ah?” asked Changbin gesturing to the cat hybrid at his side who waved nervously.

“I’m afraid we’re both a little lost,” said Changbin nodding.

“Yoongi-hyung sent you? Cool,” said the man standing fully upright, “let’s see what I’ve got on Persian hybrids. Youngie, hold down the fort?”

“Yup,” said the hybrid not looking up from his game. The man chuckled.

“Worst case scenario I can tell you what we do for Youngjae’s fur,” said the man nodding, “I’m Wang Jackson by the way, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, I’m Seo Changbin, this is Hwang Hyunjin,” said Changbin.

“You didn’t change the name at the Bangtan? They function as a registry,” said Jackson.

“We haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet so I figure we’ll wait,” said Changbin nodding.

“Alright, what about a name tag? We’ve got those if you’re needing one,” said Jackson nodding and gesturing to a tag machine.

“That’s a good idea,” said Changbin nodding, “Hyunjin-ah, you want to pick a tag for yourself?”

“I can pick?” asked Hyunjin and Changbin nodded.

“Okay,” said Hyunjin nodding.

“Youngie, can you show Hyunjin-ah how to work the tag machine?” asked Jackson.

“Yeah, come here!” called Youngjae and Hyunjin hesitated a second looking at Changbin nervous.

“Kiddo, it’s seven thirty in the morning on a Wednesday, no one’s going to be in here but you two for another two hours, nothing will happen if you let go of his hand,” said Jackson immediately seeing the problem. Changbin nodded in agreement. Hyunjin nodded and dropped Changbin’s hand and hurried back through the store to where Youngjae was.

“How’d you figure that out so fast?” asked Changbin.

“It’s not uncommon for hybrids that sell for a lot to be terrified of being grabbed off the street. It’s used as both a fear tactic to control them to stay with their owner and because it actually does happen in rougher parts of towns. Youngjae-ah was like that at first too, and Yeogeomie was even worse,” said Jackson nodding. “He’ll probably not fear it so much once he gets used to being out and about. Which I’m assuming you’re planning on that being normal since you brought him with you today instead of taking him straight home from the clinic.”

“Yes absolutely, I don’t want to keep him locked away in the apartment,” said Changbin shaking his head.

“He seems to like you a lot already, or he wouldn’t be quite so unwilling to let go of you in a small store like this,” said Jackson nodding. “Here you’ll probably want this. First time hybrid owner, right?” Changbin nodded and took the book handed to him on cat hybrid body language and behavior.

“That book’s accurate, not a lot of them are but I only sell accurate in here. It’s been Yoonig-hyung approved,” said Jackson nodding, “and Yugeyomie approved too. Ah, here’s what I have on Persian grooming. Anything else?”

“Nutrition? Dr. Kim gave us a chart, but I’d like to be completely prepared,” said Changbin and Jackson turned to scan the shelves again before pulling out another book.

“This one,” he said.

“Thank you,” said Changbin nodding as Hyunjin came back around the corner holding a small silver star shaped tag with his name on it.

“Picked one?” asked Changbin smiling and Hyunjin nodded and held it up.

“Perfect,” said Changbin nodding. “Do you want to pick out a couple books too?” Hyunjin hesitated and looked at him wide eyed.

“I can?” he asked and Changbin nodded.

“Fiction is over there, non-fiction is over there,” said Jackson pointing to different shelves and Hyunjin beamed and took off to look at the fiction section.

“That was fast,” said Changbin cocking his head.

“He’ll be quick to adjust to some things and to others not at all,” said Jackson shaking his head, “it’s not going to be easy, but it’s good he didn’t come from somewhere that hurt him severely.”

“I’m not entirely sure about that,” said Changbin quietly, “he’s definitely been hurt, it’s just not physically apparent.” Jackson nodded.

“Come on, I’ll start ringing you up, he probably won’t take very long. You’ve already talked about opinions haven’t you?”

“A little,” said Changbin nodding, “I think meeting Yoongi-ssi at the clinic helped.”

“Probably, Yoongi-hyung is kinda scary but he’s nice,” said Youngjae not looking up from his game as they approached the counter. “I liked him, hyung, we can keep him, right?” Jackson laughed.

“Sure, give him your number before they leave and we’ll have them around to meet the others some time,” said Jackson nodding.

“Cool,” said Youngjae nodding and then he looked up at Changbin. “You’re getting him a phone, right?”

“Yes,” said Changbin nodding, “we’re going shopping right after this for everything he still needs.”

“Good,” said Youngjae nodding, “tell him to text me first, I want to be his first text message.”

“I’ll do that,” said Changbin nodding. Hyunjin reappeared carrying two books in his arms and stopped next to Changbin.

“Changbin-hyung, how many?” he asked.

“Both if you want them,” said Changbin nodding, “you don’t have to pick.” Hyunjin beamed at him again still looking shocked behind the smile. Changbin wanted to do everything he could to ensure that smile stayed there but he figured there was going to be a rough morning ahead of them full of decisions and Hyunjin being confused from being given decisions. Youngjae talked to Hyunjin and scribbled his number on Hyunjin’s arm after Hyunjin asked Changbin if he could while Changbin paid. Changbin was confused about why Hyunjin had asked if Youngjae could write on his arm, but figured it probably had to do with the same reasons that Namjoon had said to make sure Hyunjin knew he was allowed in the sun. The rest of the morning was, as Changbin predicted, much more difficult and confusing and Hyunjin looked exhausted by the time they got back to the apartment. Hyunjin had been adamant about not wanting a bed frame and Changbin hadn’t fought him on it just bought a box spring to be put underneath it so that the mattress sat higher off the ground just a little, it would be delivered today and Hyunjin stuck by Changbin’s side as it happened. Changbin had left him to put away the clothes and books and promised to put up the shelves that night and gone down to open his store.

Almost a week passed of Hyunjin sticking to the meal plan and slowly adjusting to life with Changbin. He never asked questions, but started to be more willing to give his opinion when asked, but never unprompted. Changbin normally found him curled up on the couch, not asleep but not awake either and he never asked to cuddle or for any physical affection. Two weeks in, Hyunjin looked healthier, he was still incredibly skinny but he looked healthier and had stopped panicking when Changbin woke him up. Instead he’d blink sleepily at him and then either stumble his way down the hallway to sit with Changbin and eat breakfast or would let Changbin carry him with him to the kitchen. They’d fallen into a routine of Hyunjin taking a bath while Changbin checked that everything was in place for opening the store and then the two of them would dry his fur and hair and brush them together. Hyunjin seemed to really enjoy not having to do it on his own though he had learned how and occasionally did if the two were running behind, but once Changbin had realized how much Hyunjin liked having him do it he had made sure that they would always have enough time for it. This morning he put away the brushes and Hyunjin pulled on the white hoodie that Changbin had bought him that was extra fluffy and several sizes too big while he did so. Hyunjin had pulled his knees up to his chest on the floor when Changbin stepped back into the room.

“Alright, anything else you need before I open the store?” asked Changbin smiling at him. Hyunjin chewed on his lip.

“Can I nap in the store with you today, Changbin-hyung?” he asked hesitantly.

“Of course,” said Changbin nodding, “you’re always welcome in the store.” Hyunjin lit up and jumped to his feet.

“You’ll need your shoes,” said Changbin, “and collar just in case.”

“Which one, Changbin-hyung?” asked Hyunjin brightly.

“Whichever,” said Changbin, knowing that if given the option Hyunjin normally wore the plain black one that he’d picked out the day they went shopping because it was much more comfortable. And sure enough when he joined Hyunjin in the entryway he was wearing his black sneakers and his black collar. Changbin was sure that Hyunjin hadn’t realized it but his favorite colors were black and white since that was almost all he tended to wear when he picked out his own clothes and the hoodie he was wearing today was his favorite.

“Ready?” asked Changbin sliding on his own shoes.

“Yes, sir!” said Hyunjin excitedly and then wincing slightly, “uh, Changbin-hyung.” Changbin just acted like nothing had happened, Hyunjin still expected to get scolded for forgetting but he panicked less every time. Hyunjin bounced behind him as he led the way down the stairs.

“You don’t have to stay behind me if you don’t want to, Hyunjin-ah,” said Changbin smiling back at him, “you’re allowed to run ahead as long as I don’t lose sight of you.”

“I can?” asked Hyunjin. “Does. Does that mean I’m allowed outside, Changbin-hyung?”

“Yes,” said Changbin nodding, “though until you’re more comfortable with the city not without me.”

“Really?” asked Hyunjin looking excited by the idea, “I’ve never been allowed outside before.”

“Well, how about we go to the park this weekend? Or we could go shopping,” said Changbin nodding. He really needed to hire help for the shop if he was going to start taking weekends off.

“We can do that?” asked Hyunjin looking more excited.

“Absolutely, we’ll get milkshakes too,” said Changbin nodding.

“Strawberry?” asked Hyunjin leaning forward and dropping his head on Changbin’s shoulder as he opened the door at the bottom of the stairs. Changbin always kept it locked if he wasn’t down here.

“Of course,” said Changbin nodding.

“Thank you!” said Hyunjin excitedly and hugged him. Changbin couldn’t help the grin that was on his face as the two of them stepped into the shop. Hyunjin hesitated a split second before stepping around him and racing ahead to look around the shop excitedly. Changbin just grinned and walked to the door and unlocked it flipping the sign to open.

“Do you want to pick the music, Hyunjin-ah?” he called and a moment later he had a fluffy white hybrid at his side bouncing excitedly.

“I don’t know any of them, Changbin-hyung,” he said shaking his head.

“That’s okay,” said Changbin nodding, “want me to give you two choices and you pick one?”

“Okay,” said Hyunjin nodded and then pointed at the more colorful of the cd covers that Changbin held up for him. Changbin put it into the player and turned it on.

“Changbin-hyung, I can nap down here right? Or do I need to stay sitting at the counter like Youngjae-hyung and Yoongi-hyung to help?” asked Hyunjin.

“You can nap,” said Changbin nodding, “wherever you want to though I’d rather you stayed close. You can even drag the bean bag from upstairs down here if you wanted and I’ll order another so we have one for upstairs and one for downstairs.”

“A home bean bag and a work bean bag?” asked Hyunjin cheerfully and Changbin nodded. Hyunjin turned back to the stairs and dashed back up them. He reappeared moments later dragging the gray bean bag that he’d taken to napping in down the stairs and set it up behind the counter right where the sunlight streamed in through the windows.

“You’re really nice, hyung,” said Hyunjin quietly as he climbed into the bean bag and curled up. He was asleep in seconds. Changbin chuckled and smiled down at him. He crouched and ran his fingers through his hair gently.

“You’re pretty cool yourself, Hyunjinnie,” he said softly.

It pretty quickly became their new routine that Hyunjin would sit at the counter with Changbin or nap in the bean bag while Changbin ran the shop. Sometimes Hyunjin helped him sort out new shipments when they came in and within a couple of weeks Hyunjin had started picking the music for the shop regularly and had decided he liked idol music a lot. Changbin did not but he was happy that Hyunjin was feeling comfortable enough to pick his own likes. There were a couple of days where Hyunjin only picked hip hop cds after learning that Changbin preferred that kind of music until Changbin sat down with him and they talked about compromise and they worked out a system where they picked ever other cd for the store to play. Hyunjin had been very excited about it. It was a peaceful routine and Hyunjin seemed to be much happier in general than he had been before he started joining Changbin in the shop and Changbin wondered if maybe the cat hybrid had been lonely. And then their routine changed unexpectedly.

“Welcome to On Track,” called Changbin, Hyunjin had giggled the first few times it happened because he sounded so apathetic compared to the other workers at stores they’d been in together. A moment later a short bunny hybrid with Siamese coloring was in front of the desk. He was in ripped jeans and an oversized idol group t-shirt and a puffy winter jacket, his hair and fur was slightly tangled like he’d been running and hadn’t cared to fix it. The collar he wore was much thinner and lighter weight than any of the ones they’d found when they went shopping, it looked like the kind idols normally used for their hybrids.

“Hi,” said the bunny brightly, “do you have the new Twice album?”

“&Twice? Should be over with the idol albums, back wall over there, girl groups are on the right,” said Changbin pointing him to the right wall.

“Thanks!” called the bunny excitedly taking off through the shop. Which was when Changbin realized he was wearing bright red heelys.

“Don’t use the heelys in the store please,” he called.

“Sure!” called the bunny immediately stopping from rolling and running instead, which Changbin couldn’t exactly ask him not to do since he let Hyunjin do it every morning before opening and before closing. Hyunjin had said he liked making sure everything was in place and that it was fun. And since there was no one else in the store at the moment it was fine. Evidently the racket had woken Hyunjin from his nap because amber eyes blinked at him sleepily when he glanced down to check on him. Changbin’s phone buzzed.

“Oh good, snack time anyway,” said Changbin smiling and pulling open the drawer where the two of them kept the snacks. He handed Hyunjin the Ziploc of celery sticks they’d picked out form the fridge this morning and grabbed his own to set it on the counter.

“Thanks, hyung,” said Hyunjin sitting up and taking the bad. He opened it and immediately started eating them. The bell on the door rang again.

“Hannie?” called the man at the entrance. “Hey, did a bunny come in here? He got ahead of me.”

“Yeah, he’s at the back wall looking at the girl group albums,” said Changbin and then looked up. “Oh, hi, Jackson-ssi.” Hyunjin perked up immediately and tilted around the corner of the counter and then pouted when he realized his friend wasn’t with Jackson.

“Hey, Changbin-ssi,” said Jackson smiling, “how are you?”

“I’m good,” said Changbin nodding, “Youngjae-ssi isn’t with you today?”

“No, he went with Jinyoungie to Jin’s café,” said Jackson nodding, “You met Hannie I’m assuming? He’s staying a couple nights with us while his person is out of town.”

“Channie-hyung is a music producer,” announced the bunny hybrid coming back to the front carrying two albums in his arms. “He let’s me have the copies of stuff he works on for my phone before they’re out but I have to wait if I want the physical albums. He’s meeting with a singer in New York right now. I could stay at the house by myself but that’d be boring and Jackson-hyung and Youngjae-hyung live with BamBam-hyung and Yugyeom-hyung and BamBam-hyung is Chan-hyung’s best friend so I normally stay with them. Hi, I’m Bang Han Jisung, I like your store I’m definitely coming back here from now on. Normally music store employees glare at me or tell me I should take better care of my ears.”

“Shouldn’t you though? It looks like it must hurt,” said Changbin starting to ring up the albums and putting them in a bag.

“Nah, it doesn’t hurt, it’s just a little bit tangled. I couldn’t do anything if I worried about not tangling the fur,” said Han shaking his head, “and that’d be boring, I’d go crazy.” Changbin laughed and nodded.

“As long as it doesn’t hurt I don’t see why anyone should care,” he said shrugging.

“How’s Hyunjin-ah?” asked Jackson and Changbin glanced down at the beanbag.

“How are you?” he asked Hyunjin who beamed at him. Both the other boys leaned over the counter immediately.

“Oh, hi, Hyunjin-ah, I didn’t even see you there,” said Jackson with a laugh, “how are you?”

“Good, Jackson-hyung,” said Hyunjin brightly, “Han-ssi woke me up from my nap when he came in. Changbin-hyung bought a new bean bag last week and it got here yesterday and now we have two. A home bean bag for naps and a work bean bag for naps and the sunshine is really nice. And we saw Dr. Kim on Monday and he said I’m not underweight anymore but should probably try to gain a little more anyway since I’m still close to being underweight. And we figured out the fur too! Did Youngjae-hyung tell you?”

“He did, I’m glad the book helped. You should come by the store sometime for more books, we’d love to see you,” said Jackson nodding.

“I’m reading the ones hyung already has right now. I was going to ask him if we could once I ran out,” said Hyunjin nodding and looking a little nervous about the statement.

“You don’t have to read every book in the apartment to get new ones, Hyunjinnie,” said Changbin with a chuckle, “but you can if you want to.”

“I’m almost done though,” said Hyunjin shaking his head.

“It’s a matter of pride at this point, right?” asked Han brightly, “that’s so cool though. Chan-hyung has way too many books for that, but I like to try to read his English ones that’s always fun. My English is way better too now! Hi! I’m Bang Han Jisung, you’re a Persian right? You’re so fluffy!”

“Hi,” said Hyunjin, “I’m Hwang Hyunjin. You have three names?”

“Yeah,” said Jisung nodding, “hyung’s family name is Bang and Han is my family name and hyung said I could keep both if I wanted so now my name’s really long but I like it better like this. Most people call me Han except for BamBam-hyung and Chan-hyung. Can I pet your ears?” Hyunjin nodded almost immediately and Han cheered and looked at Changbin.

“Can I come around the counter, Changbin-ssi?” he asked.

“Sure,” said Changbin nodding, “I’m not particular as long as Hyunjinnie’s okay with it.” Jisung whooped again and immediately came around the counter and flopped to the ground next to Hyunjin’s bean bag and reached for his ears.

“Wow your so soft,” he said, “and your fur is really pretty. You and Changbin-ssi work pretty hard to keep it nice?”

“Yeah,” said Hyunjin nodding, “it tangles easy because it’s cottony and not wiry. What kind of bunny are you?”

“American Fuzzy Lop,” said Han nodding, “you can touch my ears if you want.” Hyunjin reached out immediately and started carefully petting the ears and working out some of the tangles. Hyunjin giggled.

“You’re fluffier than I thought,” he said and Han grinned.

“Yeah, it’s cause I’m a Fuzzy Lop not just a Lop, most Lops have rollback hair,” he explained, “hyung used to spend hours each night helping me get the knots out cause I was a mess during the day. It doesn’t take as long now cause I’ve figured out how to work out the worst ones before they happen so I don’t have to worry about it. How long have you lived with Changbin-ssi?” Jackson and Changbin had moved on, having their own conversation now letting the two hybrids get to know each other.

“Almost two months,” said Hyunjin his tail curly happily, “I really like him. He’s really really nice. He always makes sure I’m eating enough and he’s eating healthy with me and he buys me warm and comfy clothes and I have a bed and my own room and he lets me nap down here in the sun instead of upstairs because it gets lonely upstairs and I don’t like being alone.” Which would make sense since Hyunjin had been left on his own for almost an entire week after Changbin’s aunt had died.

“How long have you lived with your person?” asked Hyunjin. He’d caught on and adjusted fast when Changbin had corrected anyone that asked if he was Hyunjin’s owner by saying he was his person, Hyunjin seemed happy every time he got to tell people Changbin was his person.

“Ten years,” said Han brightly, “Chan-hyung adopted me right after he moved to Korea, BamBam-hyung and one of their other friends harassed him into going to the shelter because they were worried he was lonely and Chan-hyung wasn’t going to adopt anyone until he met me. I was kind of a mess and the shelter owners didn’t like me much because of that but Chan-hyung didn’t want to leave me with them so here we are. He’s the best, he’s the coolest person I know. You’ll love him, I’ll bring him when he comes back from New York. What’s your favorite food?”

“Strawberry milkshakes,” said Hyunjin.

“Dude, awesome, I love chocolate flavored milkshakes best,” said Han nodding, “I’ll bring a milkshake next time! My favorite is cheesecake.”

“What’s cheesecake?” asked Hyunjin.

“It’s a really good desert, it’s got cream cheese I think, not real cheese and there are a bunch of different flavors. We should be friends! I’ll give you my phone number and we can talk and you can play games with me! Do you like music? Who’s your favorite?”

“Twice,” said Hyunjin, “they’re awesome.”

“They’re my favorite too!” said Han cheering, “Chan-hyung produces some of their songs, they’re pretty nice, some of them are kind of awkward about the whole bunny hybrid thing, but they’re nice anyway. Sometimes it takes a while for people to adjust their world view, you know?”

“I think I’m taking awhile to adjust mine,” said Hyunjin nodding.

“That’s okay. It took me like an entire year,” said Jisung nodding, “and we had a lot of miscommunication at first but it worked out! You should come over some time too. We have a big backyard and a pool, it’s too cold for the pool right now but the backyard is still fun and there’s a lot of room for running around. Here I’ll give you my number.” Hyunjin tugged out his cellphone quickly and handed it to Han who typed in his number and name quickly.

“Now text me so I have your number,” said Han brightly as he handed the phone back to Hyunjin who did so. Han pulled out his own phone which had a red case and Twice charms dangling from it alongside a carrot charm.

“What’s this?” said Hyunjin pointing to the charms. He’d picked a black and white case for his phone, Changbin hadn’t forgotten that.

“Phone charms, Twice because I love them and a carrot cause hyung thinks he’s funny,” said Jisung cheerfully, “I only kept it because it was the first one he bought me. It’s lucky now.” From the way Hyunjin was watching the charms dangle from Han’s phone, Changbin should find a charm or two for Hyunjin’s phone. He’d look for something online later.

“Han-ah, we need to get going if we’re still meeting the others for lunch,” said Jackson leaning over the counter again to look down at the hybrids huddled on the floor.

“Okay, hyung,” said Han standing up.

“And you still need to pay, Changbin-ah,” said Jackson nodding.

“Right!” said Han turning around quickly and digging in his pocket for his wallet. He handed Changbin a card and Changbin ran it through the machine for him and handed over the albums.

“Thanks, Changbin-ssi!” said Han brightly, “you’ll text me right, Hyunjin-ah? I’ll be back soon and we can hang out!”

“I’ll text you, Han-ah,” said Hyunjin nodding.

“Awesome! Bye!” Both Changbin and Hyunjin called their goodbyes as Jackson and Han left the store.

“It’s okay, right, Changbin-hyung? If Han-ah comes again? I can text him and tell him to not if it’s not okay,” said Hyunjin nervously.

“It’s completely okay,” said Changbin nodding, “it’s your home too, you’re allowed to have friends over. I do want to know though if you’re planning to so it’s not a surprise, I’ll let you know if I’m having friends over too so you’re not surprised.”

“Okay, hyung,” said Hyunjin beaming at him. Changbin wasn’t sure if Hyunjin believed him but he hoped so. Hyunjin had seemed excited about the idea of a backyard earlier when Han had mentioned it which was interesting. Hyunjin had picked the stay at home option every time Changbin asked if he wanted to go somewhere, but he did love being in the sun and sitting with Changbin. Maybe it was just that Hyunjin really didn’t like being out among the rest of the world and it was the fear that had made an appearance strong enough to get Hyunjin to ask if he could hold onto Changbin that first day he’d been there. Which now that Changbin thought about it was probably a pretty strong fear because Hyunjin was still reluctant to ask him anything unless it was important. They went to the park on weekends fairly often but Hyunjin was still always hesitant when it came to actually leaving the shop and stuck right by Changbin’s side even at the parks. Hyunjin probably liked the idea of a backyard where it was relatively safe.

Han Jisung made a reappearance a week later bursting into the quiet music shop carrying two milkshakes the chocolate one already having some missing.

“Hi, Changbin-hyung!” he called even though Changbin definitely did not remember giving him permission for that.

“Morning, Han, is Jackson-hyung with you today?” asked Changbin as the bunny hybrid hurried closer, moving slower than he had the first time likely due to not wanting to spill the milkshakes, but he was still moving much faster than Changbin would have attempted with the milkshakes.

“No,” said Jisung brightly, “Channie’s back home. Is Hyunjinnie-hyung with you?”

“You’ll have to wake him,” said Changbin nodding to the beanbag where Hyunjin had curled up after breakfast and not moved for the past two hours. Jisung moved around the counter cheerfully and crouched down, setting the milkshakes on the floor and shaking Hyunjin lightly.

“Hyunjinnie-hyung!” he half sang, “wake up! I brought you a milkshake!” Hyunjin’s eyes blinked open slowly and then he sat up when he realized Jisung was in front of him, his ears perking up immediately.

“Hannie,” he said excitedly pulling the bunny into a hug and shifting so that they were both sitting in the bean bag.

“Hi! I brought you a milkshake,” said Jisung grabbing both milkshakes and handing Hyunjin the strawberry one. Hyunjin immediately started sucking on it tail waving excitedly. The door to the shop jingled again and a blonde man carrying two drinks stepped inside.

“Jisungie, did you find your friend?” he called.

“Yes!” called Jisung ears perking up slightly and Hyunjin gasped.

“You can move your ears?” he asked.

“Oh, a little,” said Jisung nodding, “if I focus I can move them more but it’s not easy and there’s no real reason to.”

“Hi, you must be Changbin,” said the blonde man smiling at him. He had a slight accent though Changbin wasn’t sure where he was from.

“That’s me,” said Changbin nodding, “you’re Han’s then?”

“Yeah, I’m Han’s,” said the blonde with a laugh, “Bang Chan, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” said Changbin, “Hyunjin-ah’s been pretty excited about Han coming by again. We don’t get a whole lot of hybrids in here and I’m pretty sure Han-ah is the first one that’s his age.”

“Jisungie’s just the same,” said Chan nodding, “he’s friends with a couple other people around his age but none of them are local. Jisung insisted on picking up milkshakes and I thought you’d prefer coffee so we compromised and got you a Frappuccino.” Changbin laughed and took the offered drink.

“Thank you,” he said, “I like both. Do you mind if I ask where you’re from?”

“Sydney, Australia,” said Chan nodding, “I moved here about ten years ago when I was thirteen.”

“Changbin-hyung,” said Hyunjin hesitantly, “can Han-ah come upstairs with me?”

“Sure,” said Changbin nodding and Hyunjin beamed and moments later both hybrids were out of sight up in the apartment. Chan seemed completely unconcerned and not at all bothered that Jisung hadn’t asked him first.

“Jisung, said you’ve only had Hyunjin-ah for a couple months?” asked Chan and Changbin nodded taking a sip of the drink. “How’s he settling in?”

“I’m honestly not sure,” said Changbin shaking his head, “I think he’s doing okay and he seems to be doing better and we’ve finally got him back to a healthy weight, but I’m very worried I’m going to screw it up.”

“He seems to be happy,” said Chan, “and Jisung said he only has good things to say about you, some of those good things are like basic rights but that’s not unusual for someone only getting actual rights for the first time now. Jackson-hyung likes you too so I figure that’s a good sign. He asked you if he could take Jisung with him just now, that’s a great sign after two months. Jisungie didn’t start asking me things for nearly six months. I have the name of a therapist if you think it’ll help any, Jisung likes him a lot still sees him sometimes but not often anymore.”

“I’d write it down just in case,” said Changbin nodding, “mostly I just don’t know what I’m doing and wish I had people I could ask the stupid questions for.” Chan laughed.

“Well, I’m more than willing to be here to answer stupid questions. Lord knows I needed help. I was a disaster, had no idea what I was doing and BamBam-hyung only figured stuff out watching me and Jisungie figure it out. Youngjae-hyung wasn’t too bad, Jackson-hyung adopted him before any real training could happen,” said Chan shrugging. “It’s much harder trying to help someone figure out how to be a person without having someone you can ask the stupid questions. Any off the top of your head?”

“Han-ah has so much energy? He’s constantly running around? I thought bunnies and cats both weren’t very energetic?” asked Changbin, “Hyunjin-ah spends most of the day napping in the sun or curled up with a book, but he made a habit of racing around the store before opening and closing every day. Should I be worried about exercise? Is he not getting enough? Is that something I should make sure he knows is allowed?”

“He was a show hybrid, right? Doesn’t act like he’s been beaten or physically abused, probably trained and starved?”

“Sounds right,” said Changbin nodding and Chan nodded.

“He probably has no idea that it’s allowed, even if you told him once you probably need to tell him again. He knows running around will tangle hair and fur and he’s probably been instructed that he has to be pristine at all time. Show hybrids are normally used mostly ornamentally. Not allowed to move hardly at all without being instructed to. He’s probably used to being told to sit on a show pedestal all day without being allowed to move from it. So you should talk to him about not worrying about it too much and that he’s allowed to do whatever he wants. He must be pretty comfortable with you if he’s running around the store at all. I don’t know a whole lot about Persian cats, but I wouldn’t be worried that he spends a lot of time napping, it’s my understanding they’re one of the sleepier breeds, lounge cats. Ragdolls are the same way. Some bunnies too. Jisung-ah is not one of those bunnies. He’s an American Fuzzy Lop, they’re extremely social and very energetic and typically not overly shy. And as I’m sure you noticed very easily get tangles and knots. We had a conversation about not being worried about it as long as it didn’t hurt him about a year after I got him.”

“A year?” asked Changbin, “you’re telling me he managed to stay still for a year?”

“Yeah,” said Chan nodding, “I’d thought it was odd because he was always vibrating with energy. It took me ages to figure out what was going on. I told you we had no idea what we were doing. It’s why I’m perfectly happy to answer any seemingly stupid questions. You took him to a clinic I’m guessing?”

“Yeah, Bangtan Hybrid Clinic,” said Changbin nodding, “first day home. I was worried he’d been hurt. He was scarily thin and hadn’t eaten in six days when I found him. My aunt left him to me in the will, he didn’t eat for six days because he wasn’t allowed to eat without permission. We had a conversation about the old rules and what it meant now that he was here that night so I wouldn’t have to worry about him starving again. Dr. Kim helped us figure out eating and everything.”

“Shit,” said Chan nodding, “that’s pretty messed up. He’s doing okay with that now? Grabbing food without permission?”

“Yeah,” said Changbin nodding, “he’s even stopped looking at me to make sure he can eat snacks people offer. Like the milkshake. We both have alarms on our phones too, to remember the schedule. Dr. Kim said a routine would be helpful.”

“Well, he would know better,” said Chan nodding. “You picked a good clinic to go to, any other would have given you bad information. Bangtan’s great and definitely impacted local view on hybrids. It’s why you’ll see so many out and about around here. It’s why me and Jackson-hyung and BamBam-hyung moved to this district. Them and the rest of us are just quietly trying to change the way hybrids are treated as we can. BamBam-hyung does a lot for the right’s movement, he’s very vocal about supporting it, but he and Yugyeom-hyung don’t go to any events because Yugyeom-hyung is a rarer kind of hybrid and events are a bad place for them to be. He was so sure Jisungie would hate him at first, but then Jisung’s always been one of the most fearless people I know. Oh, Yugyeom-hyung is a tiger.”

“A tiger?” asked Changbin eyes widening, “wow.”

“Yeah, Bengal tiger. BamBam-hyung’s an idol and one of his fans gave him to him, that was a whole mess and there was an investigation and they wanted to take Yugyeom-hyung into custody but he ended up with BamBam-hyung anyway. It worked out,” said Chan nodding. “Here give me your number so we can talk. Jisung said something about Hyunjin and our backyard?”

“Yeah, we don’t have a whole lot of space here and he doesn’t leave my side when we go to the park, but he looked excited about the idea of a backyard so maybe it has to do with it being not a public place full of people?” said Changbin as he typed his number into Chan’s phone.

“That would make a lot of sense,” said Chan nodding. “You two will have to come over to hang out, it’ll be fun. I’m sure Hyunjin-ah will want you to be with him at least the first couple times too.”

“Hadn’t even thought about the fact that I might be able to drop him off at his friend’s houses in the future,” said Changbin nodding, “I hadn’t gotten that far ahead.”

“Prepare for it to be stressful the first time. I panicked about leaving Jisung with Jackson-hyung for the whole time the first time he stayed with them,” said Chan with a laugh, “Jackson-hyung was very annoyed with me by the end.”

“Hyunjin-ah said you’re a music producer?” asked Changbin.

“Yeah,” said Chan nodding and smiling brightly, “actually moved to Seoul to be an idol then realized my calling was producing. I work for JYP groups a lot but I’m free lance so I work with a lot of artists around the world and a lot of local artists. Normally by artist rather than company though I work with a lot of JYP artists since I knew a lot of them when I started out and I’ve worked with a lot of SM groups through my JYP friends too. It’s a lot of fun and I really love it. I’m assuming you love music too?” He gestured to the shop around them and Changbin laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, music has always been my passion,” he said, “I wanted to be a famous rapper when I was younger then decided on this. I get to share my love of music like this and it’s pretty neat. I still rap a little for fun, my producing is shit but it’s a hobby so it’s not like it really matters. Haven’t been to any of the clubs recently though, I don’t really want to leave Hyunjin-ah alone yet and I really don’t want to take him to the clubs.”

“Probably for the best,” said Chan nodding, “he might want to go with you in the future. Jisung-ah used to come with me a lot.”

“You rapped underground as an idol trainee?” asked Changbin surprised and Chan laughed.

“Sure did,” he said nodding, “I actually started after I found Jisung, was just kind of playing around cause I wanted to see what I could do if I didn’t have to follow the rules, didn’t start really doing anything serious until I’d decided to produce instead. Jisungie does underground rapping too, just doesn’t do any of the open mics or live performances.”

“He does?” asked Changbin surprised, “that’s awesome. How do I listen to his stuff?”

“Soundcloud,” said Chan nodding and then when Changbin pulled out his phone and opened the Soundcloud app, “his username is JOne.”

“Oh dude, I already listen to his stuff. He’s awesome,” said Changbin setting his phone down. “I play it in the store sometimes. Not recently because we’ve worked out a system for picking every other cd.” Chan laughed.

“That’s great, he’d be so excited,” said Chan nodding, “he doesn’t really get to meet people that listen to his stuff you know?”

“I’ll definitely tell him,” said Changbin nodding, “he’s super talented. Does that mean you’re CB97?” And Chan nodded ears turning pink slightly.

“You are incredible,” said Changbin eagerly, “I’ve been listening to your stuff since you first started putting stuff out. I’m glad to know you’re doing so well with producing, I always kind of wondered why you weren’t picked up by a company.”

“Thanks, mate,” said Chan grinning, “I’m glad you like it. What’s yours?”

“SpearB, I’m not anywhere near as good as either of you,” said Changbin shaking his head, “it really is just for fun.” Chan still typed in the username and added it to his list to listen to later. For the next couple hours Chan hung around the counter talking with him pausing when a customer needed help and the younger two hung out upstairs. Chan was surprisingly easy to talk to and insisted on getting Changbin’s number by the time he and Jisung left and was making plans to meet up again soon. Several days later someone new comes crashing into their lives.

The bell on the door dings and Changbin called a greeting, Hyunjin sleeping right through it in the bean bag. A tall kid with slightly curly brown hair wandered in and headed towards the counter, he had a calico patterned cat hybrid with him who had one white ear, one orange ear, and back hair.

“Hey, how can I help you?” asked Changbin looking away from the computer where he’d been checking the inventory.

“Hi, I am looking for a job,” said the boy hesitantly, his Korean was heavily accented but not bad enough that Changbin thought he needed to be so hesitant about it.

“Yeah?” asked Changbin, “how old are you?”

“Sixteen,” said the boy, “do you need my resume? You are looking for help?” He glanced worriedly at the hybrid just behind him who nodded encouragingly.

“Yes I’m looking for help,” said Changbin nodding, “I don’t need your resume. How much do you know about music?”

“Ah, lot of American, some KPOP,” said the boy, “I can learn!”

“Good,” said Changbin, “that’s good. Do you know how to work a register?”

“ _Have you run a register before?_ ” asked the hybrid in English since the boy immediately looked confused.

“No,” said the boy shaking his head, “but I’m good with computers and math.”

“Alright, probably wouldn’t be hard to teach,” said Changbin, “how many hours are you wanting?”

“Twenty or more,” said the boy and Changbin nodded.

“Do you live nearby?” And the boy nodded again quickly.

“Anything else I should know?” asked Changbin.

“Ah, this is Taehyun-hyung, he translates when I get stuck, I need him with me,” said the boy.

“That’s fine,” said Changbin and both the boys looked surprised, “are you wanting an official job too, Taehyun-ssi?” Taehyun looked at him baffled.

“I’m a hybrid, sir, you can’t hire me,” he said shaking his head.

“Legally you’re allowed to work with your human, if I hire your person I can hire you too,” said Changbin shrugging, “if you don’t want to don’t worry about it, I thought I’d offer. Hyunjinnie-ah doesn’t work but he’s down here most of the time cause he doesn’t like being alone, so it’d be fine if you wanted to just hang around.”

“I don’t want us to get in trouble,” said Taehyun shaking his head hurriedly. 

“Alright, if you change your mind let me know,” said Changbin, “you’re hired, kid, welcome aboard. I’m Seo Changbin the owner.”

“Huening Kai,” said the boy brightening, “thank you! When do we start?”

“Tomorrow, seven am,” said Changbin nodding, “oh wait, you need to meet Hyunjinnie first.” He crouched down and shook Hyunjin gently.

“Hey, Hyunjin-ah, I need you to wake up and talk to the interview,” said Changbin.

“Someone wanted the job, Changbin-hyung?” asked Hyunjin sitting up. He rubbed his eyes and stood up.

“Oh! Hi! I didn’t even know you were down there,” said Kai surprised, “wow you’re fluffy _. Tae-hyungie, fluffy? Did I say that right?_ ”

“Fluffy,” supplied Taehyun nodding, “hi.”

“Hi,” said Hyunjin, “you want to work for hyung?”

“Yes! I’m Huening Kai, nice to meet you!” said Kai brightly, “you’re very pretty.”

“Thank you,” said Hyunjin cheeks flushing and ears twitching back slightly. “Hwang Hyunjin, nice to meet you.”

“Kang Taehyun,” said Taehyun, “I’ll be tagging along for Kai-ah if you don’t have a problem with it.”

“No, that’s okay, more people would be nice,” said Hyunjin nodding, “I don’t do much, nap mostly.”

“Sounds nice,” said Taehyun nodding.

“You like them then?” asked Changbin and Hyunjin nodded.

“Taehyun-ssi seems nice,” said Hyunjin nodding, “and Kai-ssi is like you. You’re both weird.”

“Alright, then you’re officially part of the team,” said Changbin nodding, “we’ll see you tomorrow and show you around the store.”

“Thank you so much!” said Kai excitedly, “we’ll be here! Thank you! It was nice to meet you!”

“Thank you, it was nice to meet you as well,” said Taehyun in agreement as Kai excitedly grabbed his elbow and started out of the store. Taehyun seemed amused by the younger’s actions. The two of them fit into their routine easily and quickly and Jisung and Chan both befriend them immediately as well. It’s months before Changbin realizes that they never made a place for the show awards and asks Hyunjin who tells him he doesn’t really want to have to look at them all the time but doesn’t want to get rid of them. So the awards get put in a box and shoved into Hyunjin’s closet. And life carries on. As time passes Hyunjin relaxes even more and starts asking for things and chatting about meaningless things and hunting Changbin down for cuddles and then suddenly Chan is encircled into Hyunjin’s group of people he trusts and Chan and Jisung are around constantly and it feels for the first time like somehow out of all this struggle and chaos Changbin found friends and family and so did Hyunjin and that just maybe they would be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> This is only the first one I finished there will be more to come!  
> Since I don't really have a plan for a longer story they will probably be just short bits of the over all world and different storylines they all have and participate in.  
> Other groups will be included as I write more.  
> Also I'm not sure if Kai knew Korean already or when he came to Korea, I know next to nothing about TXT it just worked for the story so that's how it is in this universe.
> 
> Animals for Hybrids mentioned because I put a lot of work into assigning specific animals: 
> 
> Hyunjin - Persian Cat  
> Jisung - American Fuzzy Lop Bunny  
> Yoongi - Scottish Fold Cat  
> Youngjae - Samoyed Dog  
> Yugyeom - Bengal Tiger   
> Taehyun - Korean Shorthair Cat


End file.
